Railway-switch



No. 6l2,435. Patented Oct. l8, I898. L. M. RANDOLPH.

RAILWAY SWITCH.

(Application filed Mar. 12, 1898.)

2 Sheets-Sheet I.

(No Model.)

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N0. 6l2,435. Patented Oct. l8, H898. L. M. RANDOLPH. BAILWAYSWITGI-I.

(Applicaticn filed Mar. 12, 1898.) (N0 Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

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ATENT Prion.

LEONARD M. RANDOLPH, OF NEWARK, NEW JERSEY.

RAI LWAY-SWITCH.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No 612,435, dated October 8, 1898. Application filed March 12, 1898. iSerial No; 673,555. (No model.)

To all whom it mayconlcern:

Be it known that I, LEONARD M. RANDOLPH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Newark, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented an Improvement in Railway-Switches, of which the following is a specification.

The object of this invention is to allow the driver to turn the switch in either one direc tion or the other previous to the car arriving at such switch and to cause the actuating devices to remain normally below the level of the roadway and protected from the risk of injury from passing vehicles.

In the present invention the flange of the car-wheel as it passes along the grooved ra'il depresses a lever and acts upon a rod extending toward the switch, and in so doing two levers are elevated so as to be in a position to I be acted upon by a downward projection fixed adjustably upon the car or by a projection that may be operated by the conductor or motorman, so as to swing one of the levers and turn a swivel-plate from which a connection extends to the switch-point, and the levers fall by gravity, so that in the normal position they are flush with the roadway and not liable to injury by horses or vehicles passing over the switch.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a diagrammatic plan illustrating the positions of the respective parts. Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation, in larger size, of the levers and switchtongue connection. Fig. 3 is a cross-section at the line 3 3 of Fig. 2, and Fig. 4 is a crosssection at the line 4 4 of Fig. 2.

The track rails or bars are illustrated at K, and the switch-point H is pivoted at 14 and serves to direct the car upon the main track or turn the same off upon the side or branch track, and at A is a lever with an arm or bolt 2 extending up through a mortise in the rail and in a position close to the tread of the rail, so as only to be acted upon by the flange of a wheel as such wheel passes along the track with its flange or rim in the groove of the track.

The rod B is connected with the lever A, and it extends to the levers O D, and it has a T head or end 5 for acting upon the lower portions of the levers O and D and bringing the upper portions of such levers O and D vertical, or nearly so, these levers O D being pivoted at 6 to the top part of. a box M, and in this box is the swivel-plate E, supported on a suitable pivot 7 and having latch-lugs or projections 8 and 9, and such plate E can be turned freely upon its central support and has a rod F extending to the switch, or nearly so, and to which it is connected by any suitable mechanism-such, forinstance, as the turning-plate or lever G, that extends to or is connected at its end with the switchpoint. The lever G acts at one side of the pivot 7 and the lever D acts at the other side.

It will now be understood that in the normal position of rest the lever A is in the position indicated in Fig. 1, with its upper end 2 closely adjacent to the surface or tread of the track-rail, and when a car passes along upon such track-rail the flange of the carwheel acts upon the upper end and moves the lever A and gives end motion to the rod B, so that the T- head thereof, acting below the pivot 6 upon the levers O and D, swings them up into a substantially vertical position, and

one of the levers O or D engages one of the latch-lugs 8 or 9 upon the swivel-plate E, and the other lever drops back into its place as the rod Bis withdrawn by the spring-12, there being no latch projection in a position to engage the lower end of such lever. Hence it the lever D falls the end of the lever C is adjacent to the-latch or projection '9 upon the swivel-plate E, and as the car comes along the driver with any suitable instrument or by a fixture to the car acts upon the lever O and gives a motion thereto, turning the swivelplate and swinging the lever down and out of use. During this operation a rod F, connected with the swivel-plate E, receives a motion and communicates the same to the plate or lever G, that is pivoted upon a suitable support and has a connection from one end to the switch-point H, such connection being preferably in the formof a bar or link 10, extending along beneath the track and engaging the downward projection upon the switch tongue or bar I-l, f

It will be understood that the spring 12, that is connected with the rod B, draws back such rod as soon as the'wheels pass beyond the lever or pusher A, so as not to act upon the same, and it is also advantageous to have a spring 13 near the T head or end of the rod B to aid in holding up the rod at this end. Hence said rod B assumes the normal position with promptness and is not acted upon after the car has passed beyond the lever A.

If the swivel-plate E and the switch-point are in the reverse position to that represented, the lever D will engage the projection 8 upon the swivel-plate E when the levers O and D are turned up, and in this case the lever 0, not being held by the latch on the swivel-plate, immediately drops as the lever A and rod B return to a normal position.

It is advantageous to place the le'ver'A in a box below the track and to provide a pipe B, surrounding the rod B and extending to the box M, and the cover of this box M is at the surface of the roadway, or nearly so, and is provided with slots for the upper parts of the levers C and D, and this cover can be removable and attached to the box by bolts, and it is generally advantageous to support the levers O and D between the ears upon the cover of the box M, with a pivot-pin or screw 6 passing through the ears below the top of the cover.

A pipe F should extend from the box M to the box N, containing the bent lever or plate G, which is pivoted at 14, and the end of the rod F is connected with this bent lever or plate, and the connection is also pivoted at one end upon this lever or plate and is connected at the other end to the switch-point H.

In the box N there is preferably a grating or perforated support for the pivot 14 in order that sand or other solid materials may drop down below such grating or support, and there should also be a pipe leading to a sewer in cases where Water is liable to run into this box N, and the same provision should be made for the box M when needed.

It will often occur that either the lever O or D will remain in an upright position after the car has passed, because the switch may be in the right position, and it would not in that case be necessary for the driver or motorman to act upon such lever O orD to turn the switch, and it would be disadvantageous to have this lever O or D standing upright in the roadway. To prevent this, the swivelplate E is held up by a spring 20, which advantageously surrounds the pivot of such swivel-plate, and there is a depressing-bar 21 with an eye around the pivot-pin of the swivel-plate E, and the other end of this depressing-bar passes up through a mortise in the track-rail, so that as the car passes along the wheel-flanges depress the bar 21, forcing fall rapidly and by gravity as' soon as the lower end of such lever is disconnected from the latch on the swivel-plate, and a second spring 22 may be applied below the depressing-bar 21, if desired, to equalize the lifting action in restoring the parts to a normal position.

It will be understood that if the latch-lugs S and 9 are provided with springs the lower end of the lever O or D will depress the latchlug as the levers are swung up Vertically;

but when the latch-lugs 8 and 9 are rigid with and the lever and rod for turning the same, i

of a swivel-plate to which one end of the rod is connected, latch projections upon the swivel-plate, levers pivoted above the swivelplate, a lever and depressing device at a sufficient distance from the switch, a push-rod with a T-head for swinging the swivel-plate levers into a vertical position to be acted upon as the car passes to set the switch when necessary, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination with the swivel-plate and the movable switch-point, of an intervening connection for moving the switch-poiut when the swivel-plate is partly turned, a pair of levers adapted to act at opposite sides of the pivot of the switch-plate and upon latchlugs upon the swivel-plate, and means for swinging up the levers into position to be acted upon by the driver or motorman of the car for setting the switch in the desired direction, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination with the switch, of a swivel-plate and connection between the.

switch and swivel-plate, levers for acting upon the swivel-plate, a spring for supporting the swivel-plate, and a depressing-bar acting against the spring to allow the swivel-plate to descend and disconnect the latch projections upon the swivel-plate from the levers, substantially as set forth.

4:. The combination with the switch-point and mechanism for changing the position of the same, of two levers, a push-rod and T- head acting upon said levers and mechanism for moving the T-headed rod endwise automatically by the passing wheels and elevating the levers into position to be acted upon by the passing car, substantially as set forth.

Signed by me this 5th day of March, 1898.

L. M. RANDOLPH.

Witnesses:

GEO. TVPINCKNEY, S. T. HAVILAND. 

